"I feel like I'd been lulled into a different pace," he continued. "Everything happened quicker than I'm used to ... a lot of things that normally take a season now take one episode."

Kit Harington, who plays Jon Snow, agreed. "This season is really different than any other season because it's accelerating toward the end, a lot of stuff collides and happens much much quicker than you're used to seeing on 'Thrones' ... it's so different than what everybody is used to. It's quite exciting."

And the breakneck speed isn't due to the shorter season length, which is seven episodes rather than the usual 10.

"Things are moving faster because in the world of these characters the war that they've been waiting for is upon them," showrunner Dan Weiss said. "The conflicts that have been building the past six years are upon them and those facts give them a sense of urgency that makes [the characters] move faster."